BY MEGHAN STREIT
If you haven't met a Red Hatter yet, you will soon. With 35,000 chapters worldwide, and 47 in Chicago alone, women over the age of 50 everywhere are dressing in purple, donning red hats of all varieties, and quite simply having a lot of fun together and living life to the fullest.
The Red Hat Society was born six years ago in Fullerton, Calif., when Sue Ellen Cooper, now affectionately referred to as the Exalted Queen Mother, read the poem 'Warning' by Jenny Joseph. The poem begins, 'When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me.'
Cooper began giving unique red hats and copies of the poem to her friends as birthday gifts. Eventually the women decided to meet for tea in their red hats and purple dresses. The group's mission, if it can be called that, is to encourage women to 'greet middle age with verve, humor and élan.' The self-described ( dis ) organization prides itself on having no official rules and no traditional officers. Instead, Red Hatters typically plan activities and outings where women can come together to find friendship, laugh and be silly, explore new things and people, and enjoy life at a time when society is sending them messages that their value is decreasing with every year that passes.
Creating LGBT history once again, Chicago has become the home of the first primarily lesbian chapter of the Red Hat Society.
The Amazon Lesbian Red Hat Sisterhood was founded by 'Queen Mother' Toni Armstrong Jr., well-known activist, musician, educator, and co-host of the famous annual lesbian Capricorn house party. In addition to thrill-seeking, fun-loving lesbians, the Amazon Lesbian chapter welcomes 'all womyn, bi women, straight feminist women, and the occasional drag king.' Armstrong believes that Chicago, the historical site of so many advancements in equality and acceptance, is the perfect place to launch a lesbian chapter of the Red Hat Society. She offered the Chicago Historical Society's recent program celebrating LGBT history and the fact the 2006 Gay Games will not only be hosted in Chicago, but will use both Wrigley Field and Soldier Filed, as evidence that Chicago is a city that by and large embraces gay and lesbian culture.
'I am convinced that history will look back with awe on what a crucible Chicago has been in nurturing the LGBT movement,' Armstrong said.
Armstrong was first exposed to the Red Hat Society by her mother Toni Armstrong Sr., a 79-year-old Red Hatter in Oceanside, Calif., and thought it would be fun to share an experience with her mother across the miles. When Armstrong looked into the existing local Red Hat Society chapters, they seemed like they would be fun, but also seemed very straight. Armstrong explained 'The more I thought about it, the spirit of the organization ... celebrating older women's independence and worth seemed like a perfect fit for lesbian feminists. So why not start a chapter that was specifically by, for, and about lesbians?'
Armstrong thought the group would just include some of her 'more adventurous and whimsical friends' who would continue to have interesting experiences, but now would wear red hats while having them. The chapter has been extremely well-received by the lesbian community, already swelling in a few months to 40 members, who gather in not only the traditional red hats, but also red 'bandanas, scarves, ribbons, crowns, tiaras, derbies, and 50-gallon cowboy hats.' Armstrong playfully remarked, 'You know lesbians and their fashion sense.'
The Amazon Lesbian Red Hat Sisterhood, like its counterparts around the world, has 'officers' more for fun than functionality. In addition to the Queen Mother, this chapter has a Dominatrix of Gaming and Dining, an Intergalactic Communications Director, a Hysterian ( unofficial photographer ) , a Post-Menstrual Minstrel, and a Mistress of Runaway Hugs. Armstrong also explained that the group has appointed a 'Sergeant-in-Gloves [ who ] is responsible for advising us on proper behavior, if only we could figure out what that would be, and an Anti-Parliamentarian [ whose ] job is to make sure nobody makes any rules.'
Outside of these ( un ) official posts, chapter members typically take turns organizing fun activities to ensure that the burden of organizing doesn't become a 'job' for anyone. The Amazon Lesbian Red Hatters gathered for a night of roulette and a potluck dinner for their inaugural event, and later this week they will go to Claudia Allen's play Hanging Fire at Victory Garden Theatre.
If you are a woman over 50 seeking fun in the company of other adventurous women and don't believe that the celebration of life stops at a certain age, then the Red Hat Society is likely for you. Women under 50 are also encouraged to join, but in the spirit of reverence for older women, are asked to wear pink hats and lavender outfits until 'The Birthday.'
See www.redhatsociety.com .
